Julio Urías allows 3 home runs in loss to Red Sox

The Red Sox homered three times against Julio Urías, earning a comeback win of their own in this weekend series that is now even after the Dodgers lost 8-5 on Saturday afternoon at Fenway Park in Boston.

It was an up-and-down game for Urías, who struck out nine but his three home runs allowed were only one fewer than he gave up in his first nine starts off the injured list.

The big blow was a fly-ball by Adam Duvall over the Green Monster for a three-run home run that game the Red Sox the lead in the sixth inning, on an 0-2 pitch. Boston tacked on an insurance run in the frame when Trevor Story walked, stole second, then scored on an 0-2 single up the middle by Reese McGuire.

The walk for Urías was his first since August 8, with 31 strikeouts in between free passes. But that’s little solace after giving up six runs in six innings, after Urías allowed four runs in his first four starts and 25 innings of August.

Alex Verdugo for the second day in a row led off the bottom of the first with a home run. On Saturday he waited until the second pitch to deposit one over the short wall in right field off Urías, after hitting Lance Lynn’s first pitch out on Friday night. Verdugo’s streak of leadoff home runs is up to three games now, beginning with Thursday in Houston.

Urías retired nine in a row after Verdugo’s home run, until another old friend Justin Turner slammed one over the Green Monster to open the fourth inning. Though not technically linked by a transaction, the Dodgers and Red Sox essentially swapped Turner for J.D. Martinez through free agency. While the currently-injured Martinez already has more home runs for the Dodgers this year (25) than all of last season with Boston (16), the same goes for Turner, who has 21 home runs in 2023, eight more than last year with Los Angeles.

Turner also doubled off Urías to open the four-run sixth, his 27th two-bagger of the season, and drove in an insurance run with a single off Gus Varland in the seventh.

Mookie Betts scored the first run of the game, his sixth straight game scoring at least once. He began the game with a double off the Green Monster down the left field line, something he’s done countless times before. Well, maybe not countless, considering he’s hit at least 43 doubles to left field at Fenway Park in his career, which doesn’t include balls hit to left center. But either way, the man is used to putting dents in that wall.

Betts also singled in the sixth, and his RBI single in the eighth brought the Dodgers to within two runs. Betts has 10 multi-hit games in his last 13 contests, continuing one of the best extended hot streaks in franchise history.

The Dodgers loaded the bases with one out that eighth inning, but could not add more. More on that in a moment.

Max Milestone

Max Muncy gave the Dodgers the lead in the fifth inning, hitting a two-run shot over the bullpen to break a tie.

Muncy’s home run was his 30th of the season, the fourth time in five full seasons that he’s reached that milestone with the Dodgers. Only five others in franchise history have at least four seasons of 30 home runs, and it’s select company — Hall of Famers Gil Hodges (six times), Duke Snider (six times), Mike Piazza, and Roy Campanella, plus Los Angeles Dodgers home run leader Eric Karros (five times).

It’s been a solid road trip for Muncy, who also drove in three runs in Friday’s series opener, including a two-run double in the seventh that helped break the game open.

Muncy has an extra-base hit in each of his last four games and at least one hit in all five games this week in Cleveland and Boston.

His home run on Saturday followed a walk by Will Smith, the fifth of the game by Red Sox starter James Paxton, who needed 92 pitches to record his 13 outs. The Dodgers made the left-hander work all day, and plated single runs in the first and fourth innings before Muncy’s tie-breaking home run.

Muncy didn’t last the entire game, as he struck out looking with the bases loaded to end the eighth inning, on a low pitch called a strike by home plate umpire Jordan Baker. Muncy immediately tossed his bat in disgust, so it was no surprise that he was ejected soon after. Manager Dave Roberts got ejected, too, but not before giving us one of the all-time great reactions to the strike call.

After stranding the tying and go-ahead runs on base in the eighth inning, the Dodgers got the tying runs on base in the ninth inning, too.

Betts tattooed a ball 101.4 mph off the bat, but it fell safely into the glove of Duvall 383 feet away in center field.

Saturday particulars

Home runs: Max Muncy (30); Alex Verdugo (12), Justin Turner (21), Adam Duvall (15)

WP — Brennan Bernardino (2-1): ⅓ IP, 1 strikeout

LP — Julio Urías (11-7): 6 IP, 8 hits, 6 runs, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts

Sv — John Schreiber (1): 1 IP, 1 hit, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts

Up next

The Dodgers go for the series win on Sunday morning (10:35 a.m. PT; SportsNet LA, MLB Network), with a group effort on the mound almost certainly featuring Gavin Stone. Tanner Houck pitches for the Red Sox.